Pople was educated at the University of Cambridge and received a Ph.D. in mathematics from that institution in 1951. He was a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1951 to 1958 and a lecturer in mathematics there from 1954 to 1958. He then headed the Basic Physics Division of the National Physical Laboratory (Middlesex, England) from 1958 to 1964. He was a professor at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) from 1964 to 1993, and he also taught at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) from 1986 to 1993.

Pople’s research centred on applying the complicated mathematics of quantum mechanics to study the chemical bonding between atoms within molecules. The use of quantum mechanics was problematic in this regard, because the necessary mathematical calculations for describing the probability states (wave functions) of individual electrons in molecular systems are so complex. However, the development in the 1960s of increasingly powerful computers that could perform such calculations opened up new opportunities in the field. In the late 1960s Pople designed a computer program, Gaussian, that could perform quantum-mechanical calculations to provide quick and accurate theoretical estimates of the properties of molecules and of their behaviour in chemical reactions. Gaussian eventually entered use in chemical laboratories throughout the world and became a basic tool in quantum-chemical studies. The computer models provided by this program have increased the understanding of such varied phenomena as interstellar matter and the effect of pollutants on the environment. These models also enable scientists to simulate the effectiveness of new drugs.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Pople received numerous awards, and in 2003 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

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